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New Jobs On KFC’s Menu As Work Starts…

Construction work began on Thursday 8th January on a new KFC drive thru restaurant, which will serve up around 50 full and part time jobs when it opens in Motherwell Shopping Centre in May.

Centre Manager Geraldine El Masrour who flagged off the first mechanical digger along with local North Lanarkshire Councillor Gary O’Rorke said the £1.3m development will bring huge benefits to the town.

Mrs El Masrour said: “KFC will give Motherwell Shopping Centre a real boost. It will attract new and existing customers, who will stay longer, and it will help us create an evening economy by keeping the centre alive at night”.

The new restaurant will be built using some of the latest innovations in design and green technologies. It will be sited in the Shopping Centre South Car Park near the West Hamilton Street exit.

Mrs El Masrour said: “We are committed to working with KFC and their contractors to ensure that the construction work does not impact on the service we provide for our customers.

“We have good, well managed parking facilities, free for a stay of up to three hours, in the South car park, and the Menteith Road car park, so shoppers should be able to find a space in one or other of them”.

Councillor O’Rorke said: “I am particularly pleased that KFC is committed to providing local jobs for local people, with a lot of flexibility to meet the needs of people like working mums who can’t necessarily work full time.

“I noticed a dramatic improvement in the appearance of the Shopping Centre after Chester gave it a major facelift, and North Lanarkshire Council has played its part with improvements to the streetscapes around the centre, and in a joint venture to provide free WiFi”.

Neil Armour-Smith, KFC’s Senior Property Acquisition Manager said: “We are delighted to have construction underway in Motherwell Shopping Centre which is really buzzing, mainly because shoppers see it as delivering great value.

“The new store will create up to 50 jobs with real career paths and accredited training at every stage, including apprenticeships. A majority of these will be part time, which will bring choice and flexibility to the local labour market”.

KFC is already a significant employer in North Lanarkshire, with four other restaurants in Wishaw, Cumbernauld, Coatbridge and Monklands. Motherwell will push the company’s total employment levels over 200 people, generating a wage bill of £1.2m a year

William Gear, Director of Chester Properties who run Motherwell Shopping Centre said: “KFC is the latest step along our path to make Motherwell the leading Shopping Centre in North Lanarkshire by giving customers the services and facilities they want.

“We are investing £600,000 in this new restaurant, on top of the £500,000 facelift we gave the centre 18 months ago”.

The KFC development comes as Motherwell Shopping Centre celebrates a record-breaking end to 2014, with footfall up 7% year on year, a dozen new businesses moving in, and occupancy levels approaching 95%.